3*
I don’t know what to think about this story, especially since I’m not a fan of heavy topics in my romances. It’s a dark romance with an MMC, Tyler, who has major baggage and the girl next door/best friend’s sister, Katie, who, despite her own grief and estrangement from her parents, still manages to be positive and bright. Initially, I thought this would be like a few other popular books on the market that feature dueling ghostwriters, but the depth of grief and guilt in Tropesick tended to overshadow the romance. I was surprised by the plot twist at the end, and couldn’t figure out what the point of it was. There are no trigger warnings, but I think there should be for addiction and accidental death. If you like romances in which a main character has a huge redemption arc, you’ll probably enjoy this story, but if you prefer less angst and a faster pace, this may not be the right choice for you.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Avon through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
3*
Although I enjoyed this sweet, romantic story, it didn’t capture my attention. I’m a fan of the second chance, friends to lovers, brother’s best friend, and small town romance tropes, but I prefer a slower build-up of a relationship. This was almost Instalove, Levi and Jilly quickly realizing that the feelings they both secretly harbored for each other in their teens were all the more potent as adults. There was very little angst, tons of kissing with some very mild, totally non-descriptive steamy scenes, and a ridiculous 3rd act breakup that was quickly resolved. Levi is a wonderful book boyfriend, and Jilly’s 9-year-old daughter is a delightfully precocious character. Overall, though, there just wasn’t much happening in the book, so predictable but ultimately forgettable.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from St. Martin’s Griffin through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
I love a romance that elicits a range of emotions. PS: I Hate You is a perfect example. I laughed (a lot), I cried, I got angry and frustrated, I swooned, and I felt relief. This beautiful, steamy, multi-trope romance includes enemies to lovers, second chance, brother’s best friend, forced proximity, and road trip. It’s definitely a wild ride and one you’ll probably want to read all in one sitting.
At its core, it’s a hard-fought romance, an exploration of grief, and a range of loving relationships (mf, sibling, and friendship). It begins at the funeral of Maddie’s brother Josh who died of cancer just shy of 30. She hasn’t been home for seven years, since her youthful crush and brother’s best friend Dom broke her heart. So, the last thing that she wants is for him to discover her in a coat closet where’s she’s fallen into a box half-full of toilet paper rolls. Unfortunately, he’s as handsome as ever and her heart clearly hasn’t gotten the message that she hates him. When Dom, as executor, passes out letters from Josh to those closest to him, Maddie is devastated to find that Josh has not only written one letter jointly to Dom and her, but that his dying wish is that they visit eight states together that he, as a world-traveling photographer, never got the chance to see. His instructions are to find the geographical coordinates in a certain order, read a new letter at each location, fulfill location-specific tasks, scatter some of his ashes, and take a joint selfie. It’s pretty obvious that he has ulterior motives, but it’ll take nearly two years, a lot of snarky comments from Maddie, requests from Josh that pull both of them out of their comfort zones, and some forced proximity before the walls Maddie has built start to crumble and they finally begin to discuss the past.
This would have been a 5* read for me, but Maddie’s immaturity and rude behavior were really off-putting. Yes, she has scars from her neglectful, cruel and abusive parents and grandmother and deep-seated abandonment issues, but Dom is so thoughtful and protective, that you can’t help rooting for him (even if you don’t know his reasons for breaking her heart years before). Author Connolly puts some trigger warnings at the beginning, and it’s important to read them because there are some heavy issues. Overall, however, there’s so much to love about this book that I highly recommend it.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Berkley through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
On the way to her brother’s bachelor/bachelorette weekend at a resort a few hours north of Chicago, Charlotte Calhoun is pushed into a deep snowbank by a skidding 18-wheeler during a snowstorm. The last person she wants to rescue her is Hayden Porter, her brother’s best friend and her long-time crush who broke her heart three years before after she drunkenly kissed him and proclaimed her love. Yet, with mistletoe in abundance and being paired off to compete in crazy Christmas games, it is soon obvious that the attraction is not one-sided. As a single dad and busy college coach, Hayden is in no place for a relationship, but the sexual tension between the two is potent, and he’s tired of fighting his attraction. Now they just need to make sure her brother doesn’t find out because the Christmas-obsessed Calhoun family is too important to him to lose if things don’t work out between them.
Although it’s not technically a second chance romance, it plays out like one. For most of the book, Hayden is the perfect book boyfriend. However, I get really frustrated when guys put on the brakes, whether for legitimate reasons or not, without consulting their love interest. It’s insulting to the woman and implies a lack of trust when it’s really just their fears and insecurities winning out.
Other than the afore-mentioned frustration, I enjoyed this story with plenty of sexy banter, a smoking hot single dad, and a plethora of Christmas cheer. If you’re in the mood for a very steamy Christmas on steroids romance, check this one out.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Forever Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
5*
What a wonderful surprise this book is! The cartoonish cover and cutesy title give the false impression that it’s just another light-hearted romance, but there’s so much more depth than that. Yes, it’s a mash-up of several tropes including brother’s best friend, second chance, and love triangle, but it’s also a thoughtful portrayal of infertility and the way in which fellow sufferers bond over their struggles to conceive and give birth and a scathing indictment of the self-help, inspirational charlatans who prey on people at their weakest moments. In this case, Ian Fortune, Gemma’s boss and long-time crush, is nothing more than a snake oil salesman whose stock in trade are meme-worthy quotations. One minor criticism of the story is the heavy sprinkling of these trite sayings throughout, both as chapter headings and as a way for Gemma to engage with friends and family without being open and honest about who she is and how she feels.
Josh is a charming, somewhat nerdy book boyfriend who, as far as Gemma knows, writes comics, lives in his dad’s basement, and collects panties as sexual trophies. In other words, he’s not boyfriend-worthy, but as former high school valedictorian, football captain, and homecoming king as well as her brother’s best friend who’s spent countless hours with her family, he’s the perfect candidate for a sperm donor once Gemma decides she’s not going to miss the chance to have a baby while waiting for “The One.” However, as Josh fully commits to making a baby with Gemma, she slowly realizes that she knows very little about him and the life he’s led in the 14 years since he went off to college. His reason for agreeing to be her baby daddy is very touching, and his love and care for his terminally ill father is heartwarming.
Ready does a wonderful job of developing her romantic leads and creating scenarios that allow secondary characters to shine, whether it’s the seemingly mismatched support group or Gemma’s mother with her well-meaning yet misguided and casually cruel attempts to find a man who will deign to marry her barren, divorced and “chubby” daughter. This thoughtful and entertaining romance is highly recommended for romance fans, anime cosplayers, and anyone looking for a delightful distraction from our troubling times.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Swift & Lewis Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
5*
Trigger warning: Child and spousal abuse
Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a run-of-the-mill enemies-to-lovers romance. This one throws an emotional punch and then some. Yes, the set-up is that Liam Murphy broke Daisy Patel’s heart when he stood her up for her senior prom and then left town without a word. He was her brother’s best friend and a part of her family, so the devastation was worse because he not only rejected her, but her father and brother as well. When she accidentally runs into him 10 years later, she soundly rejects his friendly overture; that is, until he proposes a fake engagement. For him, it’s a way to save his family’s distillery and, for her, it means getting her well-meaning matchmaking aunties off her back and finding a way to save the start-up organic feminine products company she’s come to care about. However, as so often happens, the emotions become real and someone’s going to get hurt.
Where this diverges from the normal trope is in the story of their childhood traumas. Desai spares nothing in her descriptions of the damage caused by Liam’s abusive father and Daisy’s casually cruel mother who abandoned her at age 7. They’re both suffering under the mistaken belief that they’re not worthy of love, and it’ll take a near-tragedy and some painful confessions before they can have a chance of absolving themselves and each other.
Ultimately, this is a story of redemption, forgiveness, and the power of love and family to right the wrongs of the past. It’s also a steamy romance between a sexy math nerd who doesn’t see how powerful she can be and a broken man who has achieved professional success, in large part to spite the father who made it his life’s mission to pound any self-worth out of him. The juxtaposition of Daisy’s meddling, but loving Indian-American family against Liam’s emotionally-distant, alcohol-abusing Irish one feeds into negative stereotypes, but it’s integral to the story and not gratuitous or ill-intended. Desai does a commendable job of defining her characters and readers can’t help but root for these damaged souls to find love and contentment with each other. Highly recommended.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Berkley Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
